Sheldon Whitehouse Re. GQP/Manchin Climate "Plans": "They're Just Not Capable Of That"

[hatrack]

Sheldon Whitehouse has given nearly 300 speeches begging Washington to act on climate change. So count him as unconvinced that Republicans are going to suddenly cut a bipartisan climate deal. “They’re just not capable of that,” the Rhode Island Democratic senator observed. “There’s literally nothing happening in the bipartisan effort. One Republican senator showed up at one meeting.”

EDIT

Time is running short, tensions high. And Republicans aren’t shy about their goals: They want to break Democrats’ resolve to pass another party-line tax and spending bill. If bipartisan negotiations on climate do just that, then “hallelujah,” as bipartisan group member Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) put it. Most Democrats say there’s no chance they will abandon their last-ditch effort to pass a big GOP-free bill lowering prescription drug prices, reforming the tax code and plowing billions into curbing carbon emissions.

EDIT

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is interested in dealing with climate, said he wasn’t invited likely because of his fiscal conservative roots: “I’m not for spending any new money on it.” He guessed that the meetings were really “for show” and said there was little chance of 10 Republicans’ support. Republicans don’t truly seem open to a climate deal that would keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius, the goal identified by scientists to avoid the worst consequences of a warming planet. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) famously negotiated for months in 2010 before ultimately abandoning a possible agreement.

One Senate Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the entire bipartisan effort appeared aimed at destroying any momentum Democrats have for another big party-line bill. Cramer insisted that GOP participation in Manchin’s talks doesn’t stem from an explicit desire to kill the Democratic effort, but he welcomed any resulting slowdown as a possible side effect.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/democrats-manchin-bipartisan-energy-00028966

[patphil]

1. It's the Lucy tactic.

Pretend to play along; hold that football until Charlie Brown tries to kick it, then pull it away.
Meanwhile the clock keeps running and finally the legislative session is over with no bill.